There is in the department the Division of Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation. Whenever any reference is made to the Office of Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation, it shall be deemed to be a reference to, and to mean, the division.

(g) Prepare and implement management and wildlife habitat protection plans for lands in, or proposed to be included in, state vehicular recreation areas, including new state
vehicular recreation areas. These plans shall be developed in consideration of statutorily required state and regional conservation objectives. However, a plan shall not be prepared in any instance specified in subdivision (c) of Section 5002.2. Trails may only be added or included as components of existing trail systems when developing or updating plans in state vehicular recreation areas, upon completion of full environmental review.

(h) Conduct, or cause to be conducted, surveys, and prepare, or cause to be prepared, studies that are necessary or desirable for implementing the program.

(i) Recruit and utilize volunteers to further the objectives of the program.

(j) Prepare and coordinate safety and education
programs.

(k) Provide for the enforcement of Division 16.5 (commencing with Section 38000) of the Vehicle Code and other laws regulating the use or equipment of off-highway motor vehicles in all areas acquired, maintained, or operated by funds from the fund; however, the Department of the California Highway Patrol shall have responsibility for enforcement on highways.

(l) Provide for the conservation of natural and cultural resources, including appropriate mitigation.

(m) Post on the department’s Internet Web site all plans, reports, and studies related to off-highway vehicle recreation developed
by the division.

(n) Report on any closure implemented pursuant to Section 5090.35 at the next commission meeting following the closure.

(a) In cooperation with the commission, the division shall make available on the division’s Internet Web site information regarding off-highway motor vehicle recreation opportunities, pertinent laws and regulations, and responsible use of the system. Where practical, the Internet Web site shall include the following:

(1) The text of laws and regulations relating to the program and operation of off-highway vehicles.

(2) A statewide map and regional maps of federal, state, and local off-highway vehicle recreation areas and facilities in the state, including links to maps of federal off-highway
vehicle routes resulting from the route designation process.

(3) Information concerning safety, education, and trail etiquette.

(4) Information to prevent trespass, damage to public and private property, and damage to natural resources, including penalties and liability associated with trespass and damage caused.

(b) The division may create, and update when appropriate, a guidebook of federal, state, and local off-highway vehicle recreation opportunities that includes information where current specific maps and information for each facility can be located. Contact information shall be provided and shall include available Internet Web site addresses, telephone numbers, and addresses of offices where maps can be accessed. The
guidebook shall also include the address of the Internet Web site where the information in subdivision (a) may be found.

(c) The division may work with retailers of off-highway motor vehicles and off-highway recreation associations to distribute the guidebook developed under subdivision (b) and to increase awareness of the resources available on the division’s Internet Web site.

(a) The protection of public safety, the appropriate utilization of lands, and the conservation of natural and cultural resources are of the highest priority in the management of the state vehicular recreation areas. Additionally, the division shall promptly repair and continuously maintain areas and trails, and anticipate and prevent accelerated and unnatural erosion and other off-highway vehicle impacts to the extent possible. The division shall take steps necessary to prevent damage to significant natural and cultural resources within state vehicular recreation areas.

(b) (1) The division, in consultation with the United States Natural Resource Conservation Service, the United States Geological Survey, the United States Forest Service, the United States Bureau of Land Management, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Department of Conservation shall, by December 31, 2020, review, and if deemed necessary, update the 2008 Soil Conservation Standard and Guidelines to establish a generic and measurable soil conservation standard. The
division shall subsequently review and update the standard when deemed necessary by the department.

(2) If the division determines that the soil conservation standards and habitat protection plans are not being met in any portion of any state vehicular recreation area, the division shall temporarily close the noncompliant portion to repair and prevent accelerated erosion, until the soil conservation standards are met.

(3) If the division determines that the soil conservation standards cannot be met in any portion of any state vehicular recreation area, the division shall close and restore the noncompliant portion pursuant to Section 5090.11.

(c) (1) The
division shall compile and, when determined by the department to be necessary, periodically review and update an inventory of wildlife populations and prepare a wildlife habitat protection plan that conserves and improves wildlife habitats for each state vehicular recreation area. By December 31, 2030, the division shall compile an inventory of native plant communities in each state vehicular recreation area to inform future plan updates.

(2) If the division determines that the wildlife habitat protection plan is not being met in any portion of any state vehicular recreation area, the division shall close the noncompliant portion temporarily until the wildlife habitat protection plan is
met.

(3) If the division determines that the wildlife habitat protection plan cannot be met in any portion of any state vehicular recreation area, the division shall close and restore the noncompliant portion pursuant to Section 5090.11.

(d) The division shall monitor annually in each state vehicular recreation area to determine whether soil conservation standards are being met and the objectives of wildlife habitat protection plans are being met.

(e) The division shall not fund trail construction unless the trail is capable of complying with the conservation specifications prescribed in this section. The division shall not fund trail construction where conservation is not feasible. The division shall
not fund the maintenance of a trail unless that trail is a component of a state vehicular recreation area road and trail system.

(f) The division shall protect natural, cultural, and archaeological resources within the state vehicular recreation areas.

The division may enter into contracts with concessionaires and grants or cooperative agreements with other public agencies, pursuant to laws and procedures specified in this division, for the care and maintenance of lands in the system, including law enforcement services with public agencies having law enforcement authority.

Eminent domain shall not be exercised to acquire any interest in property for a state vehicular recreation area, the California Statewide Motorized Trail, or any grant program area or trail by the division or any public agency that has entered into a grant or cooperative agreement with the division.

No owner or other person having legal control of property in the vicinity of any lands in the system is liable for any actions of any type resulting from, or caused by, the user of an off-highway motor vehicle who is trespassing on property outside the system; and no owner or other person having legal control of property in the vicinity of any lands in the system is liable for any one’s actions of any type commenced on, or taking place within, the boundaries of lands in the system.

(1) Any soil conservation standard, wildlife habitat protection plan, or monitoring program, required by this chapter, applies best available science.

(2) All standards, plans, and monitoring programs subject to paragraph (1) shall provide opportunities for public comment, including, but not limited to, written comments and public meetings, as appropriate.

(b) Nothing in this chapter relieves the division from compliance with state and federal laws and regulations, including permit requirements.